Bearing upgrades

[marshman]

I'm looking to order bearings for 1 of my Lews reels to see what kind of difference it makes and how I like it...

looking on boca website, a kit has the 3 bearings for the spool.. side plate, tension cap, and spool shaft... tackle trap bearing set only has 2... am I missing something?

and does no one ever change /upgrade the bearing on the crank/drive shaft? Or just no real benefit changing that one?

i flushed/cleaned my stock bearings and they spin pretty good except for that crank/drive shaft bearing.. that one just turns good but doesnt really free spin....

sidenote... I spun the bearings clean and dry and they spin great..put a drop of oil and it was almost like putting super glue in it... too heavy of an oil?



please be patient we me and my questions.. im
still learning and teaching myself, watching what videoes I can find... until about 2 weeks ago I had never even seen the inside of a reel!!

[PikeRoadBassn]

Some people recommend changing the Bearing under the cast control cap. It has been my experience that the Bearing located there is an alignment bearing, and really only comes to play when there is a load on the spool, typically during retrieve.

As for the driveshaft bearing, as long as its smooth, free spin is truly a non-factor. There is no real benefit to be had from upgrading this particular bearing.

As you experienced, too heavy of an oil will kill free spool. A light oil such as Hedgehog Alchemy Oil or ZPI Long Cast are much preferred to better casting.

If if you are looking for a quality all around bearing, Hedgehog Studio ZRs are a solid option for a stainless bearing. If you're looking for better performance, look at either Hedgehog Air or ZPI SiC bearings. They are 2 of the best bearings around.

All of these items can be purchased at The Tackle Trap.

if you have any other questions, feel free to call me at the shop. 256-281-6160

-Bryan (Reel Tech @ Tackle Trap)

[marshman]

Awesome!!

[dragon1]

My dedicated open water power-tech, long-distance casting reels are old-school Daiwa PT33s, a total of five PT 33SH (a couple for back up and parts) and one PT 33C. With upgraded side plate and drive shaft bearings, upgraded drag (fabricated) and 102mm Hawgtech swept handles...these reels are absolutely incredible performers. The PT33 SHs are matched up with two custom Seeker CBC807F S Glass rods and the PT 33C on a custom Hydra NG SWB955.

Additionally, the super fast levelwind gearing lays down braid fantastically for both casting and to minimize dig-in. The PT 33C is loaded with 17lb CXX for 1 - 4 ozish sized swimbaits.

[marshman]

Just ordered a set of the hedgehog airs...I'm curious!! And anxious.. got the hedgehog oil too.. tackle trap rocks!! My third order in less than 2 weeks.. haha..

[marshman]

My dedicated open water power-tech, long-distance casting reels are old-school Daiwa PT33s, a total of five PT 33SH (a couple for back up and parts) and one PT 33C. With upgraded side plate and drive shaft bearings, upgraded drag (fabricated) and 102mm Hawgtech swept handles...these reels are absolutely incredible performers. The PT33 SHs are matched up with two custom Seeker CBC807F S Glass rods and the PT 33C on a custom Hydra NG SWB955.

Additionally, the super fast levelwind gearing lays down braid fantastically for both casting and to minimize dig-in. The PT 33C is loaded with 17lb CXX for 1 - 4 ozish sized swimbaits.

I havd no clue what a daiwa pt33 is...

[dragon1]

I havd no clue what a daiwa pt33 is...

I assume, at your age...you shouldn't have a reason to! Lol...old school reels for sure. Also, I meant to type that I upgraded the spool shaft bearings to ceramics.

Here you go buddy, and apologies to the mods in advance if providing these links is not acceptable and if they need to be removed: http://forums.tackletour.com/viewtop...55371&start=15

[LewStulePH.D.]

Just ordered a set of the hedgehog airs...I'm curious!! And anxious.. got the hedgehog oil too.. tackle trap rocks!! My third order in less than 2 weeks.. haha..

I've got a Daiwa® T3 Ballistic in an 8-speed and this reel has 3 settings w/"LongCast" being 1 of them. After some exhaustive research, I ordered a Tatula CT R w/SuperTune and Sic bearings to compete for 'Longcasts' I'll let You know how it casts.. If it casts 3/4 as well as the T3, My Wife will have a real winner! I bought it for Her..

[marshman]

I really have no problems with distance.. all of my reels really cast well...(except for my Super Duty that I only flip with)...

this regular speed Spool I'm redoing is more or less just a curiousuty experimemt..it's my oldest reel
that I use, first Lews I bought back in around '09 or '10... it was still working fine, just boat rushed up and worn paint/white spots on the side plate from palming... so I took it apart, stripped it, and did a custom paint job(nothing wild, just all black) and putting it back together, just figured I'd put upgrades bearings to see...

[bgproudfew]

man I broke down, cleaned, polished inside with dremmel, and put new bearings in my lews tourney pros and my super duty and had a different set of reels when finished. I casted the whole spool of 65lb braid off my reel last Thursday throwing a big spook (throwing on logjams where braid is needed). Super duty is my frog rod. I can throw a spro popping frog as far as anyone can sling a crankbait. It's wild how well those reels responded.

[marshman]

Agreed... I've really been experimenting and learning with my Lews reels a bunch here in last couple months... I'm tickled to death!!


I just totally broke down/rebuilt a Speed Spool all on my own.... got it back together, no problems!! Works awesome!! Looks awesome!! I put a new satin black paint job and blacked out the gray trim pieces... have new hedgehog air bearings on the way to put in it but man it honestly works so clean and good now I'm not sure what I'm gonna do once I put good bearings in it!!


btw... I have 10 Lews. From Speed Spool 1's to tourney MB's and tourney pro's, and 1 Super Duty... the Super Duty is my least favorite!!

Oh yeah I do have a laser mg sitting on my desk.. I think I'm just gonna throw it on a 2 piece rod to leave in my vehicle...